Sykes heads another Kawasaki 1-2 in race two at Donington

World Superbike Champion Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) coming out victorious to take an impressive double in front of his home crowd.

Donington (Great Britain) – The second race of the day for the eni FIM Superbike World Championship was once again a close encounter, with reigning World Superbike Champion Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) coming out victorious to take an impressive double in front of his home crowd, just like one year ago.

The 23 lap race then saw a three way fight between Sylvain Guintoli (Aprilia Racing Team) and the Kawasaki Racing Team duo Loris Baz and Tom Sykes, with the #1 eventually pulling away in the final laps to claim his 18th career win in the series. Thanks to a masterful performance in both of today’s outings, Sykes now lies on top of the standings, 26 points ahead of Jonathan Rea (Pata Honda World Superbike) and teammate Loris Baz.

Tom Sykes: “Maybe race one was the best race of my career. We had a problem on the first laps of race one and Loris came quite aggressively in turn one. I lost some positions and in the first half a lap, on full lean angle the bike was cutting the power. I almost came into the pits but the Ninja cleared itself and after that the bike was working very well. In race two I knew Loris would have a good pace and Sylvain always goes well round Donington. I just kept pushing and took the lead and then the win. It is great to take another double and also take the championship lead again.”

The leading bunch of riders locked together in the early stages until a clash between first race podium finisher Alex Lowes (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki) and Marco Melandri (Aprilia Racing Team) at the Melbourne Hairpin split the group. Both riders eventually remounted their bikes, with Lowes recovering several places to end up 9th.

Alex Lowes: “Leading my first World Superbike race was mega! Race 1 was good, although I struggled a bit towards the end. It’s the home race for both the team and myself, so I’m pleased with the result. I’m really disappointed about the second race, I had a good pace and I could have had another top 3 finish. I tried my best and I got away with a ninth place, even though my bike was damaged. We have proved we can run at the front and we’ll move on with the confidence gained here at Donington.”

Just as in race one Loris Baz took second position with Sylvain Guintoli (Aprilia Racing Team) taking the last podium place after a much stronger second race for the Frenchman.

Other factory Ducati rider Chaz Davies was a lonely 5th ahead of Rea who finished 6th. David Salom added to the celebrations for Kawasaki in the EVO category, by once again being the best classified rider, finishing a credible 10th overall.

As in the opening race, Leon Camier (BMW Motorrad Italia) and Geoff May (Team Hero EBR) were not on the grid, Camier nursing an injury sustained in yesterday’s Tissot-Superpole, May unable to take part due to an ongoing technical problem.